AHMEDABAD: In a rare case, a court in
Palanpur in north
Gujarat has ordered the civic body to issue
birth certificate of a man born 113 years ago and whose birth was not registered then.
The case involves Leon Jerome Felicio DeSouza who was born on April 11, 1905 in Palanpur. The Palanpur municipality did not have a record of his birth. DeSouza died 37 years ago in an accident in Mumbai while travelling from Goa to Ahmedabad. In November last, his 60-year old son Frederick Felix DeSouza requested the authority to issue Leon's birth certificate.
The purpose cited for the need of DeSouza's birth certificate was that his 28-year old granddaughter, an engineer, wants to pursue higher studies in France. If she holds a Portuguese passport, she could have concession in tuition fees in European Union countries. Portuguese citizenship can be availed by descendants of those who were born in Goa before 1960. DeSouza's wife Patricia was born in Goa in 1919. Her birth certificate was available, but Leon's birth certificate too was required to establish her Goan descent. As Palanpur civic body did not have any record of DeSouza's birth, Frederick was directed to the sub-divisional magistrate, who has been delegated the power of a court. The court proceedings lasted for five months and the family supplied 15 different documents to establish that DeSouza was born in Palanpur. A public notice was also issued for invitation of objection, and last week, the court directed Palanpur chief officer to issue the birth certificate.
According to Frederick's advocate Salim Bagban, the court was supplied with a school leaving certificate as DeSouza, who later went on to become an electrical engineer, had studied from Class 4 to Class 8 in Palanpur high school. This certificate too was obtained after following a rigorous procedure. The chief officer and record keeper were called by the court for verification. Besides the school leaving certificate, 14 other documents were placed on record including that of his baptism.
Representative image